The Mt. Lebanon High School girls' volleyball team and coach Dawn Begor left Central York High School wondering, what if ...

The Blue Devils advanced to the PIAA semifinals in the 16-team Class AAA bracket, but an injury to their top middle hitter ended their hopes of advancing to the title match.

"Olivia Gratton sprained an ankle in the third [and deciding] set against Allentown Central Catholic," said Begor, referring to a 5-foot-11 senior middle hitter. "We split the first two games and had a 22-20 lead in the third game when Olivia went down."

Allentown Central used the injury to its advantage by rallying for a 28-26 victory.

"Allentown's last two points came on serves that hit off the top of the net and barely landed on our side," Begor said. "It was a tough way to end the day.

The triumph concluded a preliminary round-robin sweep of Pool B for Allentown Central, while Mt. Lebanon settled for second place with a 2-1 record. Both teams qualified for the semifinals, which took place Saturday morning.

"We gave her treatments that night, then taped it up real well in the morning [Saturday] and Olivia played in the semifinals," said Begor, referring to the Blue Devils' match against eventual champion Bishop Shanahan. "She was 60, maybe 70 percent. She actually played well in the first game, but really struggled in the other three. She just couldn't jump."

Mt. Lebanon, ranked No. 1 in the state all season, opened its semifinal match with Bishop Shanahan, the District 1 champion, with a 25-19 win. The Eagles, who entered the tournament ranked No. 2, rallied to win the final three games by scores of 25-19, 25-21, and 25-18.

"We like to run Olivia in front of the setter a lot," Begor said. "We couldn't do that when she got injured. It completely changed our strategy. We had to be more creative, but it also made us more predictable."

In the title match, Bishop Shanahan disposed of Allentown Central in straight sets, 25-23, 25-17, 25-13.

"It certainly makes you think, what if," Begor said. "I don't like to make excuses, because Bishop Shanahan has a very good team, but things could have been much different if Olivia didn't get hurt."

Mt. Lebanon earned its PIAA berth by winning the WPIAL title. The Blue Devils advanced to the quarterfinal round robin with a three-set sweep of City League champion Schenley in the first round.

Mt. Lebanon faced three teams in the quarterfinal round robin. The Blue Devils opened with a three-set sweep of Council Rock South, the District 1 runner-up, 25-19, 25-8, 25-17. Next came a sweep of District 12 champion Cardinal O'Hara, 25-12, 25-11, 25-21. That set up the fateful match against Allentown Central.

"It was obviously disappointing to lose under those circumstances, but I'm really proud of the way the girls battled," Begor said. "They battled right up to the final whistle. They deserved a better fate."

Begor will bid good-bye to four starters who will graduate, including her daughter, Kate, a four-year starter and three-year setter who has accepted a scholarship to Duquesne University.

The other three seniors starters are Alex Taylor, Rebecca Riemer and Gratton.

"We lose two middle hitters, one outside hitter, and my setter [and daughter]," Begor said. "But we also have some great players coming back, including some girls who have been on the bench waiting for their chance.

"We always have high expectations and next year will be no different. I'm looking forward to next season."

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.